The Rangers defeated the Captials 3-2 to pull within a 2-1 series deficit against Washington. This was a game where the Rangers were able to take advantage of Washington penalties, and the third period was a fine example of that.
Despite having the no goal call going against them in the second period, the Rangers started the third period fast, as they had several scoring chances in the first two minutes of the frame. But again Neuvirth came up big for the Caps in the early going.
At around the 14 minute mark of the period, the Caps had their best scoring chance to that point, as they had a two on two with Alex Ovechkin and Mike Knuble out in front. But Ruslan Fedotenko made a fantastic block on the Ovechkin pass to break up the scoring chance just in front of Lundqvist.
And while the the Caps were unable to take advantage of their scoring chances, the Rangers were able to take advantage of theirs. At the 12 minute mark of the period, Vinny Prospal scored the go ahead goal off of a rebound to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead.
Shortly thereafter, the Capitals helped the Rangers cause yet again as they committed another penalty, this time a tripping call on Nicklas Backstrom, to give New York another power play opportunity. But the Caps were able to kill off that penalty, giving them a chance to tie the game with eight minutes left in the period.
A few minutes the later, the Caps began to kick it in gear when they forced their way into the Rangers offensive zone, and forced the Rangers to commit a cross checking penalty. Marian Gaborik was charged with the cross check on Backstrom.
The Caps could not get their power play going early, but they cashed in on the advantage later as they scored the tying goal thanks to Mike Knuble. Knuble scored the equalizer off a rebound after his teammates helped crash the net, tying the game a two goals a piece.
A few minutes later, John Carlson and Brian Boyle went to the penalty box for roughing, creating a 4 on 4 situation.
The Rangers then quickly took advantage, as Brandon Dubinsky scored off a deflection off of Ovechkin's stick to put the home team up 3-2 with a minute and thirty seconds left in regulation.
And with that, the Rangers won the game by that score, making the series 2-1 in favor of the Capitals.
Washington certainly had it's chances to close this game out in the third period, but the Rangers were able to take advantage of the Caps mistakes and got themselves back in this series.
As a result, the pressure could be back on the Caps in Game 4 as they must win to kill any momentum the Rangers gained from this win.